'Food can improve strained ties between India and Pakistan'

Kolkata, Jan 2: Food is not just to satiate your palate, it can also play a part in improving strained ties between India and Pakistan, says Pakistani celebrity chef Mohammed Gyazzuddin.

If used as a tool of soft diplomacy, food, specially the variety which is common to north India and Pakistan, can improve relation between the two countries, he said.

"The cuisine of north India and Pakistan are the same and the food habits in both the countries have a lot in common. So I feel that exchange of food festivals between the two countries can improve the tensed relation," he told PTI. Gyazzuddin, the chief chef of Mughal's Cuisine of Karachi, is presently in Kolkata with his entire team to take part in the 26th Industrial India Trade Fair.

42-year-old Gyazzuddin has been in the profession of cooking.

He has put up a stall of Pakistani cuisine. Gyazzuddin has been coming to India for the last few years to take part in fairs, especially Delhi, Amritsar and Chandigarh. This is his maiden visit to Kolkata.

"The style of speech in Delhi and Karachi is the same. So are the food habits. Most of the people who are settled in Delhi or Karachi have crossed over from Pakistan or India during the partition. So whenever I come to India I don't see any difference," he said.

Since the last three to four generations, 42-year-old Gyazzuddin has been in the profession of cooking. "My roots are in India as my previous generations were residents of India, before partition," he said.